[GOTFIVEONIT]

for the record its pronounced 'bhatooo'

Bhutto under house arrest in Pakistan

By ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press Writer
3 minutes ago

Associated Press writers Stephen Graham in Rawalpindi, Riaz Khan in Peshawar and Munir Ahmad and Sadaqat Jan in Islamabad contributed to this story.

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani police placed opposition leader Benazir Bhutto under house arrest Friday, uncoiling barbed wire in front of her Islamabad home and reportedly rounding up 5,000 of her supporters to block a mass protest against emergency rule.

Bhutto tried twice to leave by car but was blocked by police after a scuffle with her supporters who tried to remove a barricade. The former prime minister had planned to address a rally in nearby Rawalpindi, defying a ban on public gatherings.

A suicide bombing at the home of a Pakistan government minister in the northwestern city of Peshawar, meanwhile, killed at least four people, police said. The minister was unhurt.

Also Friday, a bomb exploded at a military checkpoint, killing at least two soldiers and wounding five in Kambal, a town about 120 miles north of Peshawar, an army spokesman said. He said the victims were from the paramilitary Frontier Corps.

In Rawalpindi, about 200 Bhutto supporters were dispersed by police using tear and batons. Dozens were arrested, an AP Television News cameraman reported. Later, there was a second, smaller clash between protesters and police. Aside from those incidents, the streets of the garrison city were mostly deserted.

Kamal Shah, a top Interior Ministry official, said a district magistrate had served a "detention order" on Bhutto — who last month escaped an assassination attempt by suicide bombers, an attack that killed more than 145 people — so she could not leave her home.

However, speaking by phone from the scene, Bhutto said that no arrest papers had been served on her.

"If I'm arrested the People's Party of Pakistan workers will continue to fight for democracy and the rule of law," she told reporters who heard the call via speakerphone. She said that 5,000 members of her party had already been detained.

Afzal Khan, an Islamabad police official, said that officers blocking Bhutto's way were following a government order under which she could not hold the rally. The Rawalpindi mayor said there was a "credible report" that six or seven suicide bombers were preparing to attack it.

The crackdown showed that a week after suspending the constitution and assuming emergency powers, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf was not letting up on his political rivals despite saying Thursday that parliamentary elections would go ahead by mid-February, just a month later than originally planned. His announcement came after intense pressure from the United States, his chief international supporter.

Friday's moves will further sour relations with Bhutto and hurt the prospects of the two pro-Western leaders forming a postelection alliance against religious extremism.

Bhutto tried twice to leave for Rawalpindi inside a white Landcruiser with tinted windows, surrounded by about 50 supporters, including several lawmakers, an intelligence official at the scene said.

On the first attempt, Bhutto supporters pulled at a barbed wire barricade on the street to make way for the vehicle, but were blocked by police, the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to media. Bhutto's vehicle only managed to travel about 40 yards before it was stopped.

"We are trying to pass through because we want to reach Rawalpindi. There was a baton charge. There was a barbed wire. People in Kashmir were also stopped from reaching here. Those who can reach Rawalpindi, they should try to reach there," Bhutto later told private Geo TV.

During her second attempt to leave, she addressed police through a loudspeaker, telling them: "Give me way. Do not raise hands on women. You are Muslims. This is un-Islamic. We are peaceful."

Police responded by blocking her way with an armored vehicle. So she got out, and joined her supporters, who chanted "Go Musharraf Go!"

"The government says that some suicide bombers have entered Islamabad. If they have any such information, then why can't they arrest them?" Bhutto said.

She also demanded that Musharraf step down as army chief by next week when his presidential term expires.

"He should be retired as the chief of army staff by Nov. 15," she told reporters.

Dozens of police, some in riot gear, were deployed at Bhutto's residence by barbed wire and steel and concrete barriers. Other security personnel patrolled on motorcycles, horseback and in armored vehicles. At least 12 Bhutto supporters were arrested, including a woman who showed up with flowers.

In the second clash in Rawalpindi, about two dozen supporters burst out of an alley, shouting, "Long Live Bhutto!" Police, some on horseback, others banging their shields, chased them away. Other supporters set a tire and garbage on fire. Police fired tear gas shells from an armored personnel carrier, and the protesters pelted the police with stones.

In the northwestern city of Peshawar, police used force to disperse about 300 Bhutto trying to reach Rawalpindi. About 25 were arrested.

Bhutto's decision to join in anti-government protests against Musharraf is another blow to the military leader whose popularity has plummeted this year amid growing resentment of military rule and failure by his government to curb increasing violence by Islamic militants.

Critics say that Musharraf — who seized power in a 1999 coup — declared the emergency and ousted independent-minded judges to maintain his own grip on power. The moves came days before the Supreme Court was expected to rule on whether his recent re-election as president was legal.

Musharraf said the declaration of emergency last Saturday was needed to put an end to political instability and to fight Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants.

But most of the thousands of people rounded up countrywide have been moderates — lawyers and activists from secular opposition parties. Police have squashed attempts by lawyers to protest. Hundreds of students have also stage demonstrations on university campuses.

Across the normally bustling city of Rawalpindi, where the headquarters of Pakistan's army and Musharraf's residence is located, streets were largely deserted, aside from the two clashes with police. Friday also marked a public holiday in Pakistan. The road to Islamabad had been blocked by two tractor trailers and a metal gate.

"Since the government has not given permission for it due to security reasons, we will not allow any one to gather here for the rally," the city's police chief, Saud Aziz, told The Associated Press.

Police were also on the lookout for potential suicide bombers, who Aziz warned Thursday were preparing a repeat of the Oct. 18 bombing of Bhutto's jubilant homecoming procession in the southern city of Karachi after eight years of exile. She escaped unharmed, but more than 145 people died in the attack, blamed on Islamic militants.

Rawalpindi has also been hit by a series of suicide attacks, targeting the military.

Bhutto's party said its 5,000 arrested supporters were picked up in the last three days across the eastern province of Punjab.

"It is a massive crackdown on our party," said Raja Javed Ashraf, a PPP lawmaker.

The government offered no immediate public comment. But a security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to journalists, said only 1,000 Bhutto supporters had been detained.

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[pakmansc300]

good.......

[wheelworks]

Bhattoo?

[GOTFIVEONIT]

Originally Posted by wheelworks

Bhattoo?

ya sorry to tell you but thats how its really pronounced and if you read her name in urdu, thats how its spelled.

[GOTFIVEONIT]

i have a feeling that general mushy simply just didnt want her attending that rally.





Roadblocks were set up around Ms Bhutto's Islamabad home

Last Updated: Friday, 9 November 2007, 21:46 GMT

Bhutto house arrest order lifted

Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has been released from house arrest in the capital, Islamabad, officials say.

The order had blocked Ms Bhutto's bid to lead a rally against the emergency rule declared by President Musharraf.

The United States had criticised the house arrest, saying that she had to be "permitted freedom of movement".

Ms Bhutto has vowed to wage a campaign aimed at forcing Gen Musharraf to stand down as head of the army.

Ms Bhutto has called for a "long march" starting on 13 November, from Lahore to Islamabad, if her key demands are not met.

Democratic credentials

A three-day detention order was served on the former prime minister after she tried to cross the heavy police cordon set up outside her home on Friday.

Police had surrounded the house early in the morning with roadblocks and coils of barbed wire to prevent her from addressing a rally in the neighbouring city of Rawalpindi.

Under emergency rule announced last week, such public gatherings have been banned.

Senior officials were later quoted as saying the detention order had been withdrawn. A spokeswoman for Ms Bhutto's party said she had no information about the move.

Officials said that it was a temporary measure because of a fear of suicide bombers attacking the planned rally, and that it would be lifted by Saturday.

Last month a suicide bomber killed nearly 140 people at a mass gathering as Ms Bhutto returned home from exile.

On Friday Ms Bhutto made several attempts to leave her home but was turned back. She finally emerged to address the media through a megaphone from behind the barricades.

She repeated opposition demands that Gen Musharraf should lift the state of emergency, resign as army chief and hold elections by mid-January.

"We are calling for the revival of our constitution and respect for our judiciary," she said.

"We are calling for General Musharraf to keep his commitment and retire as chief of army staff on 15 November."

The BBC's Chris Morris in Islamabad says that under emergency regulations the detention order could be re-imposed at short notice.

However, our correspondent says it has been a good day for Ms Bhutto, bolstering her democratic credentials at a time when other opposition parties still believe she plans to do a deal with Gen Musharraf.

She is putting him under pressure at home while his Western allies are putting him under pressure abroad, our correspondent says.

White House concern

Ms Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP) said 5,000 of its activists had been arrested since the weekend, and that police detained about 100 people outside her residence on Friday.

The United States, which has been the principal backer of Gen Musharraf in his fight against pro-Taleban militants, was quick to criticise the restrictions on Ms Bhutto.

"Former Prime Minister Bhutto and other political party members must be permitted freedom of movement and all protesters released," US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said.

"We remain concerned about the continued state of emergency and curtailment of basic freedoms, and urge Pakistan's authorities to quickly return to constitutional order and democratic norms."

On Thursday Gen Musharraf pledged to hold parliamentary elections by 15 February - a month later than they were due.

He also renewed a promise to quit as head of the army, if and when the Supreme Court validated his recent re-election as president.

However, Ms Bhutto dismissed his words as "vague" and "generalised".

Gen Musharraf announced his decision to hold elections after coming under pressure from US President George W Bush.

The general imposed a state of emergency on Saturday, blaming militant violence and an unruly judiciary.

A media blackout is still in force. International channels like the BBC and CNN were allowed back on air on Thursday but have since been blocked.

[pakmansc300]

Originally Posted by GOTFIVEONIT

i have a feeling that general mushy simply just didnt want her attending that rally.

She's corrupt, she shouldn't be in the country. Send her back to England or wherever she was seeking refuge.